A former elite heavyweights is plotting a return to MMA. Just not with the UFC.
Shane Carwin confirmed his desire to make a comeback in a post Wednesday on The UG, adding that he is now a free agent. Carwin was under contract with the UFC, but wrote he and the promotion "decided mutually" that he would attempt to compete elsewhere.
"I look forward to freely speaking with the other MMA promotions," the former UFC interim heavyweight champ wrote. "The Heavyweight division has a lot of great fights and not all of them are in the UFC."
Carwin, 41, said he and his Ingrained Media management team reviewed his contract and spoke with UFC matchmaker Joe Silva and the promotion's legal team recently. Things evidently did not work out and the two sides parted ways.
"We decided mutually that my value and what I bring to the Heavyweight Division will be better utilized elsewhere," Carwin wrote.
Carwin (12-2) was one of the most fearsome heavyweights in the world for two or three years. He won the interim UFC heavyweight belt by knocking out Frank Mir in the first round at UFC 111 in 2010. That set up a unification bout with champion Brock Lesnar. Carwin destroyed Lesnar in the first round, but could not finish him. Lesnar came back to finish Carwin via arm triangle submission in the second.
Carwin fought only once after that, a unanimous decision loss to Junior dos Santos at UFC 131 in 2011. Carwin coached opposite Roy Nelson on The Ultimate Fighter 16 in 2012, but could not make the fight with Nelson due to a back injury and subsequently retired.
In all, the Colorado native had a 4-2 record in the UFC. He was known for having some of the heaviest hands and biggest knockout power of all time. Carwin was an NCAA Division II heavyweight wrestling champion and two-time football All-American in college, too.
If he does return, Carwin won't even be considered that old for the division. Many ranked heavyweights in the UFC are far past 35 years old and still competing at a high level. The UFC Fight Night 93 over the weekend featured a heavyweight main event between Josh Barnett and Andrei Arlovski. Barnett is 38 years old and Arlovski is 37.
